iPad iPad Pro 10.5 vs iPad Air 10.5 - Value?

[EugW]

iPad Pro 10.5” 256 GB is US$549 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)
iPad Pro 10.5” 256 GB LTE is US$599 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)
iPad Pro 10.5” 512 GB is US$649 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)
iPad Pro 10.5” 512 GB LTE is US$699 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/ipad-pro-327-flash?intl=nosplash

 

[masotime]

Yeah the Air 3 is not a great purchase as long as you can get the 10.5” iPad Pro at a discount. The iPad mini 5 on the other hand is a no brainer purchase.

 

[Lets Go]

So I didn't pick up the new Bestbuy unit. I was able to check the manufacturer date in store and it was June of 2018. My refrub from Apple was February of 2019. My thoughts were that if the "bright spot" issue was addressed at all in the manufacturing process it would be safer to buy the newest unit available. Also since it was a cellular unit I would have to pay a restocking fee if I took it out of the store and returned it. Also since the refrub is only a month old most likely a new unit that was repackaged as refrub for some reason (extra stock, original box damaged etc.) For the $30 savings I felt better keeping the newer unit.

 

[BigMcGuire]

iPad Pro 10.5” 256 GB is US$549 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)
iPad Pro 10.5” 256 GB LTE is $599 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)
iPad Pro 10.5” 512 GB is US$649 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)
iPad Pro 10.5” 512 GB LTE is US$699 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/ipad-pro-327-flash?intl=nosplash

Dang! They increased it $100 off from the $150 off that I got this Sunday lol. I could have gotten the 512GB for the same price that I paid for the 256GB! Oh well, lol, I'm very very VERY happy with this 10.5. Now it being $250 off, insane deal. $350 off for the 512GB! wow.

This is a great great deal.

 

[EugW]

Dang! They increased it $100 off from the $150 off that I got this Sunday lol. I could have gotten the 512GB for the same price that I paid for the 256GB! Oh well, lol, I'm very very VERY happy with this 10.5. Now it being $250 off, insane deal. $350 off for the 512GB! wow.

This is a great great deal.

Aren't you still in your return window? Will they do price adjustments in this period?

Also, the 512 GB LTE model is $430 off.

 

[masotime]

iPad Pro 10.5” 256 GB is US$549 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)
iPad Pro 10.5” 256 GB LTE is $599 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)
iPad Pro 10.5” 512 GB is US$649 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)
iPad Pro 10.5” 512 GB LTE is US$699 at Best Buy USA. (Some colours more expensive.)

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/ipad-pro-327-flash?intl=nosplash

I sold my 10.5" iPad Pro 512GB LTE for US$650 on Swappa in Dec 2018 - glad I did, any resale value has essentially tanked at this point.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Aren't you still in your return window? Will they do price adjustments in this period?

I didn't even know this existed. Hah. Cool. Looks like I'm going to Best Buy after work today.

Best Buy (15 days)

• From the Best Buy website, "If we lower our price during the return and exchange period (15 days), we will match our lower price, upon request."
• Just keep your receipt and head back to the store to get the lower price.

 

[EugW]

I didn't even know this existed. Hah. Cool. Looks like I'm going to Best Buy after work today.

Best Buy (15 days)

• From the Best Buy website, "If we lower our price during the return and exchange period (15 days), we will match our lower price, upon request."
• Just keep your receipt and head back to the store to get the lower price.

Excellent. You'll have to match up the colour though for the right pricing. The prices vary by about thirty bucks depending upon colour.

 

[StarShot]

Did I get screwed? In Dec, I bought the iPad Pro 10.5 on sale for $525 at Bestbuy. Now I see the new iPad Air appears to have the same screen with the A12 chip verses the A10 in my Pro 10.5. I think when I bought the Pro, Apple's price was $700 with the new iPad Pro 11 for $799. Apple no longer sells the model I have.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Did I get screwed? In Dec, I bought the iPad Pro 10.5 on sale for $525 at Bestbuy. Now I see the new iPad Air appears to have the same screen with the A12 chip verses the A10 in my Pro 10.5. I think when I bought the Pro, Apple's price was $700 with the new iPad Pro 11 for $799. Apple no longer sells the model I have.

I just bought the 10.5 pro for $650 this Sunday and thought I had a great deal (256GB).

 

[EugW]

Did I get screwed? In Dec, I bought the iPad Pro 10.5 on sale for $525 at Bestbuy. Now I see the new iPad Air appears to have the same screen with the A12 chip verses the A10 in my Pro 10.5. I think when I bought the Pro, Apple's price was $700 with the new iPad Pro 11 for $799. Apple no longer sells the model I have.

$525 was a very decent price for the WiFi 64 GB Pro 10.5” last year. They are selling it today for $499.

The new Air’s screen is not quite the same since it doesn’t include ProMotion. Also, your Pro has 1 more GB of RAM, two more speakers, and a better camera with flash.

 

[Sensamic]

Hi there,

I'm one of those extremely lucky people who an ipad pro 10.5 with a bright spot on the screen. it's unfixable, and although I live in the UK, where we get 2 years of warranty instead of one, because I got it in Canada, it won't get fixed here. My plan was to sell the ipad soon (and point it out to the buyer).

I also have a 50 pound voucher which expires with Apple soon. So was thinking now may be a good time to replace it. My question is this:

the ipad 10.5 pro refurb is £539 (the 256 version).
the new ipad 10.5 is £629.

which is a better buy? I'm a normal user. I don't think I use the pro functionality. I already have the pen and i'd continue to use that either way.

On one side I doubt I'd notice any difference with the new ipad. However on the other hand, it would be future proofing a bit, right?

Thoughts?

So you have the bright spot issue on the Pro and yet still you're thinking of buying it again????

 

[TorontoSS]

So you have the bright spot issue on the Pro and yet still you're thinking of buying it again????

It actually recently got replaced, so no need for me to buy a new one. And yes, I still think the pro 10.5 is an excellent machine. It works flawlessly and is still future proof. Sure I came up with an issue but it's an electronic. Things happen with electronic products. It's annoying but it happens.

Also, whilst I think many out there (including myself) were affected, I do not believe EVERYONE is effected. Just my view.

 

[MacDevil7334]

Did I get screwed? In Dec, I bought the iPad Pro 10.5 on sale for $525 at Bestbuy. Now I see the new iPad Air appears to have the same screen with the A12 chip verses the A10 in my Pro 10.5. I think when I bought the Pro, Apple's price was $700 with the new iPad Pro 11 for $799. Apple no longer sells the model I have.

Your Pro has an A10X rather than a regular A10. It is a bit slower than the A12 in CPU tasks (though not enough that you’d notice in everyday tasks). But it’s actually faster than the A12 in graphics performance. So it’s not even a clear downgrade when it comes to processor. And, as others have mentioned, your Pro has a better screen, quad speakers, and more RAM than the Air 3. You didn’t get screwed!

 

[tshrimp]

Yeah the Air 3 is not a great purchase as long as you can get the 10.5” iPad Pro at a discount. The iPad mini 5 on the other hand is a no brainer purchase.

I have an iPad Mini 5 on order as my wife's 1 year and 3 week old iPad Mini 4 is failing . That was a no brainer as you said.

However, I am looking to upgrade from my Air 2. I was going to get the new Air, but having trouble deciding between that and the Pro 10.5 as they are the same price right now at a local store. I am hoping since you support the Pro, I was wondering what exactly puts it over the top for you?

The pro has a slower CPU, but more memory (4 vs 3). Does this matter as IOS has never been all that RAM hungry from what I understand. The 120hz screen vs 60, but I can't even tell the difference on my 120hz TV vs the 60, and reviews online are all over the place on this. BTW...I will never use the pencil. I am also worried about support from apple down the road, and the CPU does not support "Next-generation Neural Engine". So basically it is the older CPU and how long it will be supported that worry me.

BTW...I see where the A10X has a better Metal score. What all does that truly measure, and is it actually anything to consider as we know many benchmarks don't tell the whole story? Thanks for your help.

 

[MacDevil7334]

I have an iPad Mini 5 on order as my wife's 1 year and 3 week old iPad Mini 4 is failing . That was a no brainer as you said.

However, I am looking to upgrade from my Air 2. I was going to get the new Air, but having trouble deciding between that and the Pro 10.5 as they are the same price right now at a local store. I am hoping since you support the Pro, I was wondering what exactly puts it over the top for you?

The pro has a slower CPU, but more memory (4 vs 3). Does this matter as IOS has never been all that RAM hungry from what I understand. The 120hz screen vs 60, but I can't even tell the difference on my 120hz TV vs the 60, and reviews online are all over the place on this. BTW...I will never use the pencil. I am also worried about support from apple down the road, and the CPU does not support "Next-generation Neural Engine". So basically it is the older CPU and how long it will be supported that worry me.

BTW...I see where the A10X has a better Metal score. What all does that truly measure, and is it actually anything to consider as we know many benchmarks don't tell the whole story? Thanks for your help.

Unless you are using your iPad for graphically intensive games or processor intensive tasks like rendering 4K video, pretty much any modern iPad with an A9 chip or newer is probably fine. You’re right that the A12 has a better benchmark score than the A10X. But in regular use (web browsing, email, social media, movie/music consumption, etc.) you won’t be able to tell the difference. The A12 is slightly faster, but not dramatically so. And the A10X actually has better graphics performance than the A12, so it’s not even a clear downgrade. As for the neural engine, that’s mainly used for Face ID (which neither iPad has) and for machine learning tasks (something I don’t think most iPad users care about). So, at the end of the day, you’re not likely to notice much of a performance difference between the 10.5” Pro and the new iPad Air.

However, you likely will notice things like the better sound coming from the quad speakers on the Pro. It’s not just that the sound is louder, it’s also better better balanced and allows for more bass. You’ll notice things like the smoother scrolling from ProMotion. The difference isn’t as dramatic as say the jump from a non-retina screen to a retina screen. But it is noticeable and hard to go back. You will notice things like apps and safari tabs refreshing less often because the iPad has more RAM available to keep them loaded in memory. All these are real-world benefits instead of differences in processor benchmarks, which is why many (myself included) continue to recommend the 10.5” Pro over the new Air, especially if you can get them at the same price.

 

[masotime]

IHowever, I am looking to upgrade from my Air 2. I was going to get the new Air, but having trouble deciding between that and the Pro 10.5 as they are the same price right now at a local store. I am hoping since you support the Pro, I was wondering what exactly puts it over the top for you?

The pro has a slower CPU, but more memory (4 vs 3). Does this matter as IOS has never been all that RAM hungry from what I understand. The 120hz screen vs 60, but I can't even tell the difference on my 120hz TV vs the 60, and reviews online are all over the place on this. BTW...I will never use the pencil. I am also worried about support from apple down the road, and the CPU does not support "Next-generation Neural Engine". So basically it is the older CPU and how long it will be supported that worry me.

BTW...I see where the A10X has a better Metal score. What all does that truly measure, and is it actually anything to consider as we know many benchmarks don't tell the whole story? Thanks for your help.

Admittedly my preference for the Pro is based largely on the quad speakers, 120Hz refresh rate and higher Metal score. If these things don't matter to you, then the Air 3 is a better purchase as the A12 is likely to be more future proof. I do not believe 3GB v 4GB will affect "future-proofness" much.

The 120Hz rate is a big draw for many people though, along with the quad speakers.

 

[EugW]

The pro has a slower CPU, but more memory (4 vs 3). Does this matter as IOS has never been all that RAM hungry from what I understand.

4 GB is noticeably better than 2 GB in terms of reducing app and Safari tab reloads. However, I can't say it will be noticeably better than 3 GB, since I don't have a 3 GB iPad to test.

I do have a 3 GB iPhone, but that's not a fair comparison since the screen is way smaller and page rendering is very different on the iPhone, so I won't bother trying to compare my iPhone to my iPad Pro in this regard.

Still, it was an added plus for me in the decision to choose the Pro. I was thinking along the lines of an 8 GB MacBook vs a 6 GB MacBook. I think it says something that the minimum you get in a 2018 iPhone and a 2019 iPad now is 3 GB. Just a few years ago, that minimum was 1 GB.

The 120hz screen vs 60, but I can't even tell the difference on my 120hz TV vs the 60, and reviews online are all over the place on this. BTW...I will never use the pencil.

Well, you likely don't scroll through MacRumors on your TV. It's way smoother on the 120 Hz iPad Pro than any 60 Hz device, including my MacBook and iMac. Similarly swiping to different home screen pages is much smoother.

Truthfully it's not a critical feature, since most of the time the MacRumors page or home screen is stationary, not scrolling. Nonetheless, it's really nice luxury feature to have. Very pretty. The other theoretical advantage is it can decrease the frame rate, say for 24 fps video playback. Not only does that eliminate the need for 2:3 pulldown, it also potentially saves battery life, although I can't tell you how much battery life it might save.

It does also supposedly provide for lower latency for Pencil too, but like you, I will not likely buy a Pencil.

I am also worried about support from apple down the road, and the CPU does not support "Next-generation Neural Engine". So basically it is the older CPU and how long it will be supported that worry me.

This doesn't worry me in the least.

I suspect the Air could get iOS updates for a year longer than the iPad Pro because of the A12 in the Air, but that's a tradeoff I was willing to take to get the added features of the Pro which I can use today. BTW, besides the quad speakers and better camera, one additional feature I really like on the Pro that I hadn't predicted is just having the flashlight handy in the dark. There is no flash on the Air.

BTW...I see where the A10X has a better Metal score. What all does that truly measure, and is it actually anything to consider as we know many benchmarks don't tell the whole story? Thanks for your help.

Some GPU tests will be faster with A12, but the A10X will be better in a few others. A10X is hugely faster in Geekbench Metal, but I suspect it's not really representative of most true Metal workloads. And the CPU advantage of A12 is only minor. Overall, I wouldn't worry about it. If you really wanted a noticeable performance boost, I'd recommend the 11" Pro. That one would also be able to make real use of the Neural Engine, since it has Face ID. It almost seems to me that the Neural Engine is orphaned in large part on the 2019 iPad Air, since it doesn't have Face ID.

 

[EugW]

FWIW, this is how my iPad Pro is currently using its 4 GB RAM, with a few apps including a half dozen Safari tabs. (Safari is not currently active. It’s BMSSM at the forefront, and this application cannot multi-task.)

I’m not entirely sure how to read this but it seems like there is a little under 1.9 GB in active use (including both by the user and by the system) along with about 1.5 GB of cached applications and 0.2 GB free. I’m not sure where the other 0.4 GB of RAM went. Is it currently being used by the GPU?

[doublepost=1553725801][/doublepost]FWIW, here is my iPhone 7 Plus with 3 GB RAM. I didn’t do a direct comparison of the apps loaded but it was also with a few apps in the background including Safari with half a dozen tabs. It seems the OS limits the active memory to about 1 GB and the inactive to 1 GB as well, for a total of 2 GB, reserving another 1 GB for the system etc.

The iPad Pro above also allocates 1 GB of memory to the system, etc. but that leaves 3 GB to split between active and inactive memory.

 

[Che Castro]

you guys think apple fixed the white dot issues in their refurb iPad 10.5 pro ?

if somebody returned an iPad for this issue you would think they would fix it before reselling it ?

I know that apple reurbs are good as new

 

[Allentown72]

I signed up just to read and reply to this thread.

After much debate I cancelled my IPad mini 5 order (still rocking a Mini retina just for watching movies on airplanes but it's painfully slow with web browsing).

Any way....seeing as how there will be plenty of chances to buy a Mini 5 but only a limited opportunity in close out deals I tool the $430 i was gonna spend on a Mini 5 and ordered an Ipad pro 10.9 256gb in sliver for $579 from best buy.

I'm going to try and use it for presentations while on the road so I picked up an apple lightening to VGA adapter, an ipad pen version 1 and a satechi Bluetooth presentation pointer and a Brydge Aluminum Bluetooth keyboard.

All I need it to do is surf the web and show me movies...but will it actually work to plug into old outdated VGA projectors and run a presentation with the remote? Will the ppts i put together on Windows using office 365 port over and do the lightening to VGA adapters actially work?

I bought a usb-c to VGA for a lenovo surface clone in 2017 onky to find I wasted my money because would only project to SOME projectors...is that still an issue?

I prob could do the same w a Mini but a 256g pro for $579 seemed like a good deal????

Plus I have a LARGE collection of very expensive wired headphones from companies like Audeze and Focal so I figured the headphone jack might make more sense to someone like me anyway .

Any feed back is welcome. (Long time windows pro book and Android use who has always used Apple only for the tablet world)

 

[EugW]

I signed up just to read and reply to this thread.

After much debate I cancelled my IPad mini 5 order (still rocking a Mini retina just for watching movies on airplanes but it's painfully slow with web browsing).

Any way....seeing as how there will be plenty of chances to buy a Mini 5 but only a limited opportunity in close out deals I tool the $430 i was gonna spend on a Mini 5 and ordered an Ipad pro 10.9 256gb in sliver for $579 from best buy.

I'm going to try and use it for presentations while on the road so I picked up an apple lightening to VGA adapter, an ipad pen version 1 and a satechi Bluetooth presentation pointer and a Brydge Aluminum Bluetooth keyboard.

All I need it to do is surf the web and show me movies...but will it actually work to plug into old outdated VGA projectors and run a presentation with the remote? Will the ppts i put together on Windows using office 365 port over and do the lightening to VGA adapters actially work?

I bought a usb-c to VGA for a lenovo surface clone in 2017 onky to find I wasted my money because would only project to SOME projectors...is that still an issue?

I prob could do the same w a Mini but a 256g pro for $579 seemed like a good deal????

Plus I have a LARGE collection of very expensive wired headphones from companies like Audeze and Focal so I figured the headphone jack might make more sense to someone like me anyway .

Any feed back is welcome. (Long time windows pro book and Android use who has always used Apple only for the tablet world)

Don't expect the Apple Lightning to VGA dongle to work. It gets lousy reviews.

A third party USB-C to VGA adapter works perfectly with my 12" MacBook. Dunno about the iPad Pro 11" though. The Apple USB-C to VGA adapter for the iPad Pro gets similarly lousy reviews.

 

[Allentown72]

Don't expect the Apple Lightning to VGA dongle to work. It gets lousy reviews.

A third party USB-C to VGA adapter works perfectly with my 12" MacBook. Dunno about the iPad Pro 11" though. The Apple USB-C to VGA adapter for the iPad Pro gets similarly lousy reviews.

So basically a continuation of the problem I had w USB c on windows enjoys multi platform status....

Good thing I also needed an upgrade for my mini 2

 

[Fishels]

I decided to jump on the 10.5" Pro refurb deal, just in case it sells out sooner rather than later, esp. since it's less than the retail pricing for the Air here in Canada.

However, often times when it sells out, it comes back into the store later. Also, I will point out that the 9.7" Pro is still available, even though it was discontinued back in 2017 when the 10.5" model was introduced.

I’m sorry if I already asked this question. And it’s probably a stupid question.

1. If I buy a refurb from Apple do they offer the ability to get Apple care plus? Do all their iPads qualify for that

2. If it’s a discountined model how do they replace it(old inventory?)

 

[Fenhalls]

I’m sorry if I already asked this question. And it’s probably a stupid question.

1. If I buy a refurb from Apple do they offer the ability to get Apple care plus? Do all their iPads qualify for that

2. If it’s a discountined model how do they replace it(old inventory?)

1) As far as I am aware, yes to the first part. I certainly got it with a 10.5 Pro refurb in the UK. No idea as regards the second part.

2) A refurb, I suppose.
[doublepost=1553751588][/doublepost]

I signed up just to read and reply to this thread.

Plus I have a LARGE collection of very expensive wired headphones from companies like Audeze and Focal so I figured the headphone jack might make more sense to someone like me anyway .

Any feed back is welcome. (Long time windows pro book and Android use who has always used Apple only for the tablet world)

Wow, colour me impressed. Headphones of that quality would be wasted on an iPad. They'd surely have to be amped anyway. Best I've ever used with an iPad are Sennheiser 599s, and even that's really a waste. With such beautiful headphones I'd be looking at something like these, at least for music:

https://www.audiophileon.com/news/hd-music-player-top-10